How do you stay motivated to use SP?

you have to break the cycle of immediate gratification. if you see candy/pizza/donuts, you have to teach yourself that this isn't your last opportunity to have them, despite what their advertising campaigns will tell you. and skipping them this time doesn't mean that you aren't ever going to be able to have them again. those sorts of things are ubiquitous. they pretty much will always show up at certain places, and even if they were one day to cease magically appearing through no effort of your own, they're pretty easy to search out and get. and yes, this took a long time to sink in. don't start trying to work in the candy today. plan to work in the candy tomorrow. the more often you can delay the gratification, the more likely you are to be distracted by something else and forget about it. because once you get to the point where you can want candy and have it tomorrow, you can work on wanting it now and delaying having it til two days from now. and then move that out to three days, then four and then five. this way you can slowly teach yourself that having candy doesn't mean you have to have it right now. and not having candy right now isn't suffering. and if you can't do something for longer than a week, you need to start where you are rather than where you want to be. in other words, instead of starting at your ideal diet, start where you are, off the wagon. look at those foods that you make and consider staples and figure out small changes that you can make that make those choices that you fall back on better for you. so if you love mac and cheese, have mac and cheese. but see if you can cut out a little of the oil or fat in it and see if you can add a serving or two of veggies to it. the last time i made mac, i used half pasta and half zucchini cut up to be the same shape as the pasta along with some milk, grated in cheese and spices. i didn't immediately start using zucchini in my mac, i started by adding maybe 1/4 cup of zucchini to the total amount of pasta i was using. once i had been making it that way for a while, i cut back on a little of the pasta and doubled up on the zucchini. after i got used to that, then i cut the pasta back again and added more zucchini. and when i say get used to it, i'm not talking making it once or twice and calling it good. i am talking about making it the new way often enough that you start to think of the new way as simply how you make it. in other words, that you do it in the new manner to the point where you're automatically doing it the new way without thinking about it. which can take weeks and a lot of repetition. because it can take six weeks to change just one habit, and everything about the way that you eat is part habit.

GA2NEGIRL
Posts:
32
7/28/13 8:35 P

My suggestion is to make it part of your routine. For me that means logging on when I get home from work and entering food eaten so far and then again after supper to log the rest of my food and my exercise. I have set up only one rule that I won't allow myself to break. That rule is log EVERYTHING I eat. No matter what. Sometimes I choose not to give into temptation because I don't want to log it. I've been operating with that rule for a little over 2 months--I know not terribly long, but definitely is a habit now. Checking my sparkstreaks periodically is also encouraging.

CANDISSSE
Posts:
650
7/28/13 8:25 P

I'm in the same boat..I've been using SP on and off for quite a few years, and I really need to find a way to get back into it and STICK to it. I have decided that I need to start using this as "me time" and definitely invest more time into SP and working out. I also need to work on healthier cooking for my family. I want to instill healthy eating habits into my step daughter's life now, instead of waiting until she is older and has a harder time with these choices.

If you believe something great, you can achieve something great -Katy Perry. Seriously 3.5 lbs in one week? you are doing great! The only reason it is so hard is because it is so easy to look at your faults and how you "used" to be skinnier but in reality you need to look at your perfection and give yourself reasons why you love yourself. Love your body just the way it is, and instead of thinking how you used to be skinnier, think how you CAN be skinnier. Sure that instant gratification of opening that candy wrapper might sound nice, but that long lasting satisfaction of crunching in to a tasty apple sounds WAY better and tastes just as nice. Reward yourself with good feelings after choosing an apple instead of a candy bar, say to yourself something cheesy like "I'm proud of myself, most people aren't as strong as I am to chose an apple over a overly-sugared candy bar, yep that's right I'm amazing"

I was smaller when I was in high school and my early twenties. I took Depot Provera and gained so much weight it was pitiful. I have started and stopped a gozillion times myself. I am getting married in October (Halloween) and I want the maximum number of years with him. I also have a ten year old son. I need to be here for him. They are my motivation. I am losing for myself and my health, but I want to be the most I can for them. Keep trying. I know it's hard.

I have used spark people on and off (mostly off) since I was sixteen, when I discovered spark teens. At the time, I thought that being in the higher end of my "healthy" BMI made me too big. Now, bordering the thin line between "Over" and "Obese" I find myself wishing I was as skinny as I was when I thought I was "fat." I've already lost 3.5 pounds in my first week of sticking to my SP plan, but I do have a long way to go! A week is the longest I have stuck to any diet, so I am proud of myself for making it past that! But my question for those who have done it for the long haul, what keeps you up and doing it? What do you think of in moments of weakness, like when that bag of candy is mighty tempting, and you start calculating in your head whether or not you can squeeze it in today? Or when the pizza at your company potluck looks amazing? I'm finding it easiest this time around doing SP with a work friend, and we're keeping each other accountable, but in the end the journey depends on me alone, and my decisions when no one is there to stop me. So please chime in! I'm curious to everyone's own pick me ups!

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